Don’t expect Sean Strickland to take off his gloves for a bare-knuckle fight anytime soon.
Speaking at UFC 302 media day, Strickland addressed his new UFC contract before going on an unprovoked rant about BKFC. In a response that started out as a comment about his exit plan from combat sports, Strickland ultimately pivoted to state that he never wants to be “one of those assh*les that goes and fights bare-knuckle.”
When asked about how much money it would take for him to consider a bare-knuckle fight, Strickland responded “nothing they would pay me” before attacking BKFC.
“Bare knuckle, you want to talk about f*cking crooks,” Strickland said. “They’re paying their guys shit. Like [BKFC] is one of those organizations where you hear these numbers, it’s all bullshit.
“If you look at the lowest rung of the guys, they’re breaking their hands, breaking their orbitals, and they’re making a couple thousand bucks. Bare knuckle’s f*cking trash.”
While combat sports payouts are rarely seen these days, the salaries from BKFC KnuckleMania 4 were actually released by the California State Athletic Commission after the event took place in Los Angeles in April.
The highest paid athlete was Mike Perry, who took home $600,000 for his win over Thiago Alves. The lowest paid fighter was Crystal Pittman, who earned $500 for her fight against Sydney Smith.
It’s unclear if Perry saw Strickland’s comments about BKFC, but a few hours after UFC 302 media day ended, the “King of Violence” placed a sizable wager on Strickland’s opponent.
In a post on Instagram, Perry showed off a $50,000 bet made on Costa to win on Saturday, with the bare-knuckle superstar set to earn $140,000 if the Brazilian beats Strickland.
“Paulo Costa said he’s coming to put a beating onto Sean Strickland this weekend,” Perry said in the video. “I’m rocking with that Brazilian power. ‘Borrachinha’ in the building! I think he has more tools in MMA to get the job done. Let’s go Paulo, show him what I’m talking about.”
Perry may not care one way or another about Strickland’s opinion regarding BKFC, but he’s putting his money down on Costa to get the job done against the former UFC champion.
